Kallie’s eyes panned over to Ash’s flowers and she jumped at the ready. In all of the emotions and all of the shocking things that had happened over the course of her day, she’d forgotten about his card. She left James’s card on the kitchen counter and reached for Ash’s, undoing the bow that held it to one of the flower’s stems. She unfolded the card and settled her eyes upon the simple statement. Straight forward, to the point, and somehow fitting for everything she knew Ash to be.
Call me if you believe in second chances.
And his phone number was listed.
Chapter 2
Kallie
“Girl, you better open this door! I’ve got two bottles of wine, a bunch of finished projects at work, and I’m ready to party through your last weekend before you return back to the—”
Kallie opened the door for her best friend, and Eris’s eyes immediately settled on the bouquets. Eris walked into her apartment speechless, her grip loosening on the wine bottles. They clattered to the carpeted floor as her jaw dropped open, and Kallie sighed as her friend gawked in silence.
“What the fuck is all this?” Eris asked.
“I can’t talk about it right now,” Kallie said. “It’s all too much.”
“Oh no. You're not getting out of this that easily. I know you’ve been home for longer than you let on. And I’ve given you your space. But now? You talk. Over wine. Lots of it.”
“Eris, I don’t want to—”
“Listen, I don’t give a damn what you don’t want to do. I’m your best friend, and you can’t lie around here wallowing in your sorrows. If life is spinning out of control, then you have to grab it by the balls and keep it held still until you can fix shit.”
Eris popped open both bottles of wine before handing one to Kallie.
“You don’t even want a glass?” she asked.
“Fuck glasses. Tonight, we’re going to drink this wine, order a shit-ton of Chinese, and pass out talking about what the hell these flowers are for,” Eris said.
Kallie fell to the couch and brought the bottle of wine to her lips. The white wine slid down her throat almost effortlessly. She felt her best friend sit beside her and meet her gulp for gulp. Challenging her to see who could drain the bottle the fastest. Kallie sputtered as the alcohol burned and Eris rubbed her back, grinning as Kallie coughed into her hand.
“I see you did your fair share of drinking on the island.”
“No thanks to you,” Kallie said.
“I didn’t do a damn thing. Now, the last time we talked you were shaking off your wonderful rebound. What happened? And how does it tie into those flowers?”
“The short story is one of those bouquets of flowers is from the rebound.”
“Hold on, hold on, hold on. Your booty call from the island sent you roses?” Eris asked.
“No. James sent me roses. My booty call—whose name is Ash, by the way—showed up with the exotic flowers.”
“So, what happened to you shaking him off? Because clearly you didn’t listen,” Eris said.
“It’s complicated,” Kallie said as she took another sip of her wine.
“Then uncomplicate it.”
“I enjoyed spending time with him, Eris. I can’t help that. He’s handsome and spontaneous. He surfs and flies planes and knows how to drive a boat. He taught me how to snorkel and we took naps in the sun. And the sex, Eris.”
“Oh, if the sex is good everything else can be forgiven.”
“I’ve never felt like that with a man before. Wanted and satiated and lusted after. It was beautiful, Eris. And I couldn’t give it up. I tried. After I got off the phone with you that day, I went straight back to that bar and snagged me a military man on leave.”
“For fucking real!? Girl, how did that go?” Eris asked.
“Great, until Ash showed up. In his tight wet suit dripping with seawater.”
“You sound like me.”
“I felt like you. I couldn’t get enough of him. It was wonderful, and not once did I think about James while I was with him. Not once did I think about anything while I was with him. I connected with him, Eris. On a level I never felt with James before.”